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IOWA CITY – As Iowa’s wrestling team posed with the national championship trophy last March at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, there wasn’t a smile amongst the group.

“It’s such a bitter feeling to win the way we won,” 197-pound senior and Wilton alum Chad Beatty said.

The Hawkeyes didn’t crown any national champions and needed a stellar consolation round on the final day to squeak past Ohio State by 41/2 points for the title.

For most programs, five All-Americans, a 24-0 dual campaign, a Big Ten championship and a national crown would be cause for celebration.

For the Hawkeyes, it was the missed opportunities at nationals that were a constant reminder in their workouts during the offseason.

“We won everything from a team point of view, but certainly we’re gearing to widen the gap,” head coach Tom Brands said Wednesday at the team’s media day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “That’s how we’re training.

“We want to widen the gap as the year goes along.”

Iowa, seeking its third consecutive NCAA title and 23rd overall, has seven All-Americans returning. The Hawkeyes begin the season ranked No. 1 and have rattled off 38 consecutive dual wins and are 45-1 the last two seasons.

The Hawkeyes appear to be loaded again.

“Our staff tends to feel like maybe we like what’s going on in there, without letting the cat out of the bag too much,” Brands said. “We like what’s going on in our room.”

Brent Metcalf, who captured a national title in 2008, returns after having his 69-match win streak snapped in last year’s 149-pound finals to North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell, 11-6.

“You’re never going to put something like that completely behind you,” Metcalf said, “but at the same time, I can’t let it drag me down.”

Brands has no concern in how Metcalf will bounce back.

“He’s responded as well as you could expect from a guy that’s driven and ornery,” the fourth-year Hawkeye head coach said. “He’s so ornery he can’t even look at himself in the mirror, and that’s true. He’s on a mission.”

Metcalf is joined by senior All-Americans Daniel Dennis (133 pounds), Ryan Morningstar (165), Jay Borschel (174), Phillip Keddy (184), Joe Slaton (141) and Dan Erekson (heavyweight).

Erekson is sidelined until January after having surgery for a torn pectoral muscle in October. Slaton, a 2008 runner-up, is training with the Hawkeyes but is “wading through some issues,” Brands said. Still, he anticipates him to wrestle this season. 

Beatty, 19-6 and a national qualifier last season, is the starter at 197.

“Our depth is really strong,” Beatty said. “We’ve got a lot of good guys at every weight. We’ve got more than 10 national champs on this team.”

Iowa will have to replace four-year starters Charlie Falck and Alex Tsirtsis at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively, while 157 still needs to be ironed out.

True freshman Derek St. John won last week’s wrestle-off, but there has been talk of redshirting the Iowa City West grad.

Waverly-Shell Rock’s Matt Ballweg and Aaron Janssen also figure into the mix at 157.

“Midlands (Dec. 29-30) will be a big proving ground of where we’re at in those weight classes,” Brands said. “The stakes are high. It’s the No. 1 team in America, you want to make the team, do well and represent your weight class. We’re real deep in some weight classes.”

Dennis said, “I don’t see any holes in our lineup when we’re wrestling well.”

Because of the depth and work ethic of his team, Brands is confident in what 2009-10 will bring. He points to Cornell, Ohio State and Iowa State as the front-runners to challenge his team based on returning points from last year’s NCAA meet. He also didn’t rule out Minnesota or Oklahoma State.

“It seems like it’s real tight,” he said. “All those teams will be well-improved, are well-coached and extremely hungry.”

Inside the Hawkeyes

- Head coach: Tom Brands (fourth year, 59-6 dual record; two national titles)

- 2008-09 record: 24-0, 8-0 Big Ten (1st)

- 2009 NCAA finish: 1st, five All-Americans

- All-Americans returning (7): Daniel Dennis (133, 7th in 2009); Joe Slaton (133, 2nd in ‘08); Brent Metcalf (149, 1st in ‘08, 2nd in ‘09); Ryan Morningstar (165, 3rd in ‘09); Jay Borschel (174, 3rd in ‘08); Phillip Keddy (184, 6th in ‘08, 4th in ‘09); Dan Erekson (Hwt, 4th in ‘09).

- Projected lineup: 125 – J.J. Krutsinger or Matt McDonough; 133 – Daniel Dennis; 141 – Dan LeClere, Montell Marion or Joe Slaton; 149 – Brent Metcalf; 157 – Derek St. John or Matt Ballweg; 165 – Ryan Morningstar; 174 – Jay Borschel; 184 – Phillip Keddy; 197 – Chad Beatty; Hwt. – Jordan Johnson.

Schedule

November

14 – at Harold Nichols Open (Ames); 20 – Iowa City Duals (Coe, Cornell, Iowa Lakes, UNC-Pembroke, S. Illinois-Edwardsville), 5 p.m.; 27 – at Bucknell (Rutgers), 3 and 4:30 p.m.

December

6 – at Iowa State, 6 p.m.; 10 – Northern Iowa, 7 p.m.; 29-30 – at Midlands (Evanston, Ill.), all day

January

9-10 – at Cliff Keen/NWCA Duals (Cedar Falls), all day; 16 – Oklahoma State, 7 p.m.; 22 – at Michigan 6 p.m.; 24 – at Purdue, 1 p.m.; 29 - Penn State, 7 p.m.; 31 – Michigan State, 6 p.m.

February

6 – at Utah Valley, TBA; 12 - Northwestern, 7 p.m.; 14 – at Minnesota, 6 p.m.; 19 – Ohio State, 7 p.m.; 21 – at Wisconsin, 1 p.m.

March

6-7 – at Big Ten Championships, all day; 18-20 – NCAA Championships (Omaha, Neb.)